Had the boat out twice last weekend for the first time ever. It sailed great, the kids and the dog(Hobie) loved it!
Anyways I got a couple questions:
1. What is the best righting system out of the three that are in the Hobie catalog?
2. My turbo has a dolphin striker, and a jib....I am trying to figure out how to proper assemble the jib. There is no furler, and only on v-cleat on one side of the mast on the crossbar....what am I missing?...I would rather not upgrade to a furler system.
3. Is it normal for the downwind shroud to hang lose while sailing? It seemed perfectly fine. I do have good tension on all shrouds on the beach, unrigged.
4. Can I mount a mini Bob to the old style mast head?
5. How much water should be in the hulls after day of sailing? One side just a little trickle and the other had maybe a cup or two....1-2 ft Lake Michigan chop, were the conditions.

2 - Does the jib have a wire inside of the sail luff? That would be a furling jib. The cleat on the crossbar sounds like it had a furler at some time. If the sail has a wire in it, it is designed to replace the forestay. If it is a Hobie made jib. Here is the Turbo Jib Manual : http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/e_turbojib.pdf

3 - It is normal for the leeward shroud to go somewhat slack. The rig is tensioned with the mast straight. Once you start sailing, the mast bends and the leeward wire will be a bit slack.

Thanks a ton for the previous help,
In regards to the jib:
There may be a wire in the sail luff, if thats the forward or leading edge of the sail and the sail is impossible to roll up because of this and it's very stiff, right?
Also, the bridle wires do not look like the ones photgraphed in the assembly manual and they fit to the forestay perfectly. The Forstay however does have a single block near the mast tang, and a there is a line through it which to hoist the jib. But there is no place to secure a jib sheet.....hope this makes sense.
Were furlers done in '82?
Matt

... The Forstay however does have a single block near the mast tang, and a there is a line through it which to hoist the jib. But there is no place to secure a jib sheet.....hope this makes sense. Were furlers done in '82?

We have had furlers in our 14 Jib system since the Turbo was introduced in '82. It is the same furler that comes with the Hobie 18.

Sounds like your jib is made for the furler system, but your boat was set up to hoist the jib. Does the jib have hanks? The little clips that hook on to the forestay fire when hoisting? That would be best, but you could use it without. The jib cleats are normally mounted on a cable strung under the trampoline. The blocks hook to the cable through the trampoline (through large grommets).

Yes the jib does have the plastic clips that clip to the forestay. What parts do I need to complete the jib. I do not have jib cleats or blocks. I will look to see if there are large grommets through the trampoline. Is there a guide available for jibs without furler assemblies?
I hate to keep dragging this out, I would love to be able to fly the jib...
Hubert, I do not have a digital camera...I know that would help.
Thanks again guys...

Since we didn't make a jib for the 14 without a furler... we don't have a manual that describes it. It is basicaly the same once the jib is up. Question will be... where to place the jib cleats. Depends on the sail cut as to how far aft the cleats should be. Nothing on the front cross bar to cleat it to? Likely is was intended to cleat in our typical position at the tramp grommets. You would need the cable under the tramp and two cleats plus 32 feet of 5/16" line. The setup would be the same as a 16 from there. Dead end of the line at the top of one cleat. Out to the jib clew blocks on the sail and back to the cleat. Through and exit the jaws then across to the other cleat... into the jaws and out to the jib clew blocks. Back to the cleat and tie off.

Matt-
The tramp does have grommets and a cable underneath that runs to each sidebar. I will need what you described in your last post. I would rather not upgrade to a furler system, since I only paid $500 for this boat. I do want to use the jib however...

Another question, I was sailing on Sat, and was on a port tack(Wind coming over the port hull?) on a close reach and the starboard shroud was hitting the sail when it tightened...the sail won't last long with that happening right?, my guess too much downhaul?? Help? It would not happen on the the way back, so the other side would not hit the sail.

I love this boat and sailing it, we bought it cause we live on the beach on Lake Michigan, the kids are really enjoying sailing, we can just roll it down when we want and it was a low cost way into Hobie sailing, a new boat may be in order is the coming years!

So I guess I need 2 jib blocks(#H186) and 2 blocks(#20680000), and some 5/16" line, right?

Do the jib blocks connect to the wire through the top of the tramp grommet? My wire is not directly under the grommet, it's maybe 1 in. away....Does the tramp keep the jib block from sliding? What about tramp wear?

Yes they should hook to the cable through the trampoline. The location of the wire is maybe a bit further aft? Should be no problem. The tramp can handle the load. Wear shouldn't be an issue.

No need for the furler.

It is somewhat typical for the sail to rub on the shrouds when sheeted lightly. Only going upwind and sheeted tight would it not rub. You can add sail tape to the batten pockets where the shrouds touch. Also be sure the wires are coated. Newer wires have a plastic coating. Older "bare" wires can be covered. See page 43 of the catalog.

Would Harken 188 jib or spinnaker blocks work? They are 2 1/4" (57mm) Hexaratchet (switchable) blocks with becket. Or am I way off?

As far as the shroud goes they are old bare wires, I guess thats why I didn't like the rubbing. I was sheeted in pretty good to, only when I sheeted in all the way would it not rub on the sail, was i doing something wrong? It was only when the shroud tightened after going through some waves did it rub.